Addressing Competencies for the Future in the Professional Curriculum

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature, analyzes current and future practice, develops a list of competencies necessary for future pharmacists, and provides recommendations to pharmacy's academic enterprise regarding curricula of the future. Curricula of the future will center around 3 functional roles for pharmacists: patient-centered care, population-based care, and systems management; and must also foster the development of 5 cross-cutting abilities in student pharmacists: professionalism, self-directed learning, leadership and advocacy, interprofessional collaboration, and cultural competency. Future curricula must be developed in an evidence-based manner, focus less on information storage and retrieval, engage student pharmacists in a variety of highly interactive learning experiences, and expand experiential learning opportunities throughout all years.

Pharmacy Student Self-Testing as a Predictor of Examination Performance

“…5 Learner-directed assessment, whether mandated or encouraged, is an integral component of developing the metacognitive skills essential for students becoming life-long self-directed learners. 2,6 Pharmacy education is focused on addressing competencies viable well into the future of our profession, 7 and the academy should evaluate any option, including self-testing, that promotes students' individual formative assessment. To date, self-testing, also known as "retrieval practice," has received minimal attention in pharmacy education literature.…”

A Roadmap for Educational Research in Pharmacy

“…59 Key articles in pharmacy education emphasize the importance of evaluating the impact of new learning environments on all aspects of the educational environment, including professional socialization of the students as they progress across the curriculum. 1,60,61 Efforts should focus on rethinking the competencies and abilities of pharmacists, promoting active learning in the classroom, challenging students to think critically and synthesize broadly to solve problems, engaging students earlier in patient care, and developing curricula in a more evidence-based manner. 1,60,61 Rethinking pharmacy curricula as complex systems with core components that require thoughtful integration and evaluation is likely to yield tremendous impact on student learning and the education and training of future health professions leaders.…”

“…1,60,61 Efforts should focus on rethinking the competencies and abilities of pharmacists, promoting active learning in the classroom, challenging students to think critically and synthesize broadly to solve problems, engaging students earlier in patient care, and developing curricula in a more evidence-based manner. 1,60,61 Rethinking pharmacy curricula as complex systems with core components that require thoughtful integration and evaluation is likely to yield tremendous impact on student learning and the education and training of future health professions leaders. 62 This, in turn, creates an opportunity to thoughtfully design educational research studies and use the findings to inform and guide curricular transformation.…”

“…Importantly, efforts must be made to use this evidence to refine student learning and pharmacy curricula, as well as shape the delivery of health care. 61 Educational research can play a vital role in providing evidence to schools and educators as innovations permeate numerous components of pharmacy education. 7 Taken together, the results from systematic and rigorous educational research studies can provide compelling support for implementing change that positively impacts the ability of future pharmacists to address the health care needs of society.…”

Development and Assessment of Social and Emotional Competence Through Simulated Patient Consultations

“…1 The white paper identifies 10 content or learning strategies that must be incorporated into the pharmacy curriculum, over half of which relate to social and emotional development. 1,2 Although the importance of learning emotional intelligence and incorporating it into healthcare have been discussed in the literature, there has been little research on measuring emotional intelligence and, more importantly, assessing emotional intelligence development in the pharmacy curriculum.…”